This is a great break from beachlife and a true homage to the path that laid the way for xboxes and playstations. Set in the King’s Road arches and slap between the piers, you will find the museum. Inside are a wide range of truely oldschool arcades and eccentricities from the late Victorian era to the mid Twentieth Century. I especially find the ‘What the Butler Saw’ machines funny. I also like that they give you large old pennies to play, rather than have converted the machines to take contemporary currency. I’m sure a number of these end up leaving the arcade as souveniers, so I suppose they have them made to order or something! You are unlikely to find all the machines working at any one time, but there will certainly be at least £2-£3’s worth of pennies to play with. The only thing I missed not being present was an old style automated organ or some ‘traditional’ snacks to buy. Certainly a fun way to spend a few quid doing something a little different.
Sarah-Jane B.
Rating des Ortes: 4 Brighton, United Kingdom
A must for anyone interested in old fairgrounds and amusement arcades, Brighton’s Penny Arcade Museum is a small arcade housed in one of the arches on the sea-front. A few minutes walk from Brighton Pier, it’s also a great place to take kids for half an hour’s fun. There’s funny mirrors that make you look taller, shorter and fatter and over 50 vintage penny slot machines. Since most of the machines were manufactured between 1895 – 1950 some of them seem to break down occasionally but most of them are in good working order. There’s strength machines that test your endurance, fortune tellers that predict your future and love life and quirky machines like What The Butler Saw. For £1 you get 7 old pennies to play whatever machines you like. The arcade is open every day from 12am-6pm Easter til September and fine weekends in the winter. If you’re planning to make a special trip, it’s worth phoning to check.
